It’s amazing that this has taken “McKinsey” to get proper national attention.

Since 2006, we’ve helped tens of thousands of small employers who dropped their group plan give employees tax-free funds to purchase their own individual policies. Our business has grown 400% since 2010 when children and some others received guaranteed coverage regardless of preexisting conditions, and now the largest employers in the U.S. are adopting our software to administer their own defined contribution plans by 2014. 

The math is simple. An employer can pay $20,000 a year for coverage for a family of four earning $40,000 a year, or give that same employee $1,600 a year to purchase the exact same coverage from exchanges offering subsidized individual policies—the 2010 health care reform caps the employee contribution at 4% of their income.

Paul Zane Pilzer 
Founder, Zane Benefits

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) set a September 22, 2011 deadline for limited-benefit health benefit plans to apply for a waiver from the annual benefitimit requirement in the Affordable Care Act. 

In 2014, defined contribution health plans will become the ideal solution for most (if not all) U.S. employers.

According to a recent 2011 survey by McKinsey & Company, up to 30% of employers will "definitely" or "probably" stop offering employer-sponsored health insurance after 2014. 

Premium rates for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) have been reduced by up to 40%, and restrictions on enrollment have been removed. 

Want to test your knowledge of healthcare reform? Take the Kaiser Family Foundation pop quiz.

The 2012 Health Savings Account (HSA) guidelines have changed from 2011.

High Deductible Health Plan (HSA Qualified)

In 2012, a “high deductible health plan” will still be defined as a health plan with an annual deductible at least $1,200 for self-only coverage or $2,400 for family coverage.

The annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) do not exceed $6,050 for self-only coverage or $12,100 for family coverage.

2012 Annual HSA Contribution Limits

• Employers with 250 or more W-2 employees  

• Employers with self-funded insurance plans subject to COBRA.

"Q-18:  Is the cost of coverage under a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) 

required to be included in the aggregate reportable cost reported on Form W-2? 

A-18:  No.  An employer is not required to include the cost of coverage under an HRA in 

determining the aggregate reportable cost.  If the only applicable employer-sponsored 

coverage provided to an employee is an HRA, the employer is not required to report any amount under § 6051(a)(14) on the Form W-2 for that employee."